We aren't playing old-fashioned cricket: Shoaib Malik

With Pakistan set to play against Australia in a must-win encounter for both the sides in their last Super 10 encounter of the World T20 2016 on Friday (March 25), Shoaib Malik, senior batsman, said that Wahab Riaz is fit and will be available for selection for the crucial encounter. The last time the two sides played a limited-overs match, the left-arm pacer had terrorised the Australians, especially Shane Watson, in Adelaide, bowling one of the fiercest spells of fast bowling in One-Day Internationals (ODIs).

"He is exceptional. He is fit and practicing and ready to play tomorrow. But, the team selection is the team management's decision," Malik said at a pre-match press conference in Mohali.

While talking about the challenges against Australia, he heaped praise on the leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who had a good outing against Bangladesh where he bagged three wickets, but said that there will be little assistance on offer for spinners at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium. "I have played against him in Big Bash League and he is a very good bowler. I would say this track is not really for spinners, it's best for T20 cricket."

The twin defeats against India and New Zealand in the ongoing World T20, following a commanding win against Bangladesh, may have jeopardised Pakistan's chances of making it to the semi-final, but Malik insists that the side isn't playing 'old-fashioned cricket.'

A poor batting display by Pakistan in their last match against New Zealand, resulted in them squandering a major advantage in terms of Net Run Rate. They lost the match by 22 runs that seemed well in their control for most parts. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals while failing to get boundaries as frequently or rotating the strike more often.

"We are not playing old-fashioned cricket. If we were old-fashioned we wouldn't have scored 67 runs in six overs. It shows we are not old-fashioned. We need to work on strike rotation," Malik said. "If you see we lost by 22 runs; if we had not missed those singles from seventh to 13th over, we wouldn't have lost. Obviously no one is perfect. You have to improve every day. That is our responsibility as a cricketer to improve our skills."

With only one win in three matches, the results of India and Australia will also play a decisive role in determining Pakistan's chances of making it to the semi-finals. He admitted that Pakistan closely followed the nail-biting clash between India and Bangladesh on Wednesday and hoped for Bangladesh's win in order to make their qualification bid simpler.

"We all were sitting together. We wanted Bangladesh to win not because we don't like India. The reason was we want to see ourselves go ahead in the tournament. We were supporting good cricket." However, he went on to say India's win wasn't 'heartbreaking'. "If it was heartbreaking, I won't be sitting here," he concluded.

Friday's match is a must-win encounter for Pakistan as well as Australia to keep their hopes alive for a qualification through to the semi-finals.